Former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala passed away at the age of 89 years on Friday. The Indian National Lok Dal chief suffered cardiac arrest at his home in Gurugram. He was immediately rushed to hospital but could not be saved, said a party spokesperson.
Chautala served as the Chief Minister of Haryana for a record five terms, first assuming the office in December 1989 while his final term was from 1999 to 2005.
His first term as CM spanned 171 days while the second one, which started on July 2, 1999, was for just five days.
On March 22, 1991, Chautala again became the CM but his sting was again short-lived with just 15 days. His fourth term as CM began on July 24, 1999, and continued till March 2, 2000. It was his fifth term when he completed the five-year stint in 2005.
Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini paid tribute to the veteran state politician. "The demise of INLD supremo and former Chief Minister of Haryana Chaudhary Om Prakash Chautala ji is extremely sad. My humble tribute to him," Saini said in a post on X.
"He served the state and society throughout his life. This is an irreparable loss for the politics of the country and Haryana state," he added.
The INLD, founded by Chautala's father Devi Lal Chautala, is currently divided into two factions among the third generation of the Chautala family. OP Chautala's elder son, Ajay Chautala formed the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) while the younger son, Abhay Singh Chautala stayed with his father and continued with INLD.
However, both factions suffered bitter losses in the Haryana elections held this year.
JJP's five-year association with the Bharatiya Janata Party could also not come to its rescue as the party did not win a single seat while INLD won only two.
Arjun Chautala, son of Abhay Chautala won one of the two seats from Rania while Aditya Devilal secured the second seat from Dabwali.